At some point yesterday, a crustacean-obsessed bandit (or bandits!) pulled off the crime of the century, audaciously stealing a seven foot, 1000-lb lobster statute that's the mascot of a popular Hamptons restaurant. more ›

Last weekend, after learning all about Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department "spokesman" Pipo-kun, we asked you for your ideas for an official NYPD mascot. And we got a lot of great suggestions and drawings, including The NYPD Policestopus, Officer Bully, and Texty the Traffic Cop. And it turns out that over at Fark, they took up our cause, and began their own thread for pictures for an NYPD mascot. more ›

Did you know that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has its own mascot? Named Pipo-kun, he was created in 1987 to encourage friendlier relations between citizens and the police department. His name is pronounced “Pee-Po”, taken from “PEople” and “POlice”, and he sometimes looks a little like Mighty Mouse. He shows up at any Tokyo police event, has some brother and sister mascots, and even has his own theme song! So it got us thinking: why doesn't the NYPD have a mascot? more ›

We already got a preview of the Parks Department's new mascot, Pearl the Squirrel—but over the weekend she was met by the masses, as commissioner Adrian Benepe introduced the first ever official city furry in Thomas Jefferson Park. more ›

Last year the Parks Department asked for mascot submissions, noting that designs like Nutty the Squirrel, Hudson the Hawk, or Parker the Leaf were all acceptable... as long as the design on paper could be transferred easily to an adult-size costume. So what did New York's creative masses come up with: Pearl the Squirrel! more ›

Happy Pandaversary! Can you believe it's been a year since Sad Panda came into our lives? Since then, we've obsessively posted about him, and in November even found out the man behind the mask is 62-year-old Jialing Chen, who has quite a story. While only a restraining order could stop us from continuing to track his every move, perhaps we need a new obsession to join him for 2010. We are now taking suggestions—who is your favorite NYC mascot? more ›

A freelance artist is suing NYU because she says her alma mater stole her mascot design and used it for merchandise without compensating her. 22-year-old Ariel Fleurimond (MySpace) was a psychology major working as an equipment room clerk in the athletic department in 2007 when associate director Noah Lefebre asked her to create a mascot. Fleurimond says she came up with a cartoon cougar she called "Orion" and submitted the illustration, but never heard anything about it. Cut to last summer, when she discovered, painted on the floor of the gym, her cougar—which she says has been appropriated as NYU's bobcat. NYU's legal department reviewed her complaint and decided that Fleurimond had been fairly compensated for her work in the athletic department, but her lawyer tells the Daily News, "She was paid to pick up dirty towels." Fleurimond hopes to get millions because she copyrighted her cougar cartoon, but it's important to remember that the bobcat is a relatively new mascot at NYU. NYU teams are the "Fighting Violets"; bobcat is a macho portmanteau of "Bobst Catalog," the school's filing system. NYU's spokesman says, "We fully expect to prevail." You go, Violets! more ›

Terrible news everyone: Sad Panda has gone missing. A reader sent us these disturbing images of a Wall Street with no mascot. His usual stomping grounds have been checked out, but he's nowhere to be found. One concerned citizen even put up a missing poster. more ›

For some reason, this amazing contest from the Parks & Recreation Department escaped our attention until now! Parks officials want you to think of a mascot! This adorable (and nutty) image of a squirrel unzipping his fur (ew) to reveal a Parks logo is included, but don't let that stymie your imagination: "Is it Nutty the Squirrel, Hudson the Hawk, or Parker the Leaf? Is it another animal, person, or object, or a previously unknown creature that emerged from the depths of New York City’s 29,000 acres of parks, gardens, and forests?" Person? That means you could potentially suggest former Parks Commissioner Robert Moses! Still, keep this in mind: "Designs must be able to be produced into a costume that can be worn by an adult between 5’6” and 6’ in height and up to 180 pounds in weight. There may be some creative adjustments to your original design due to accommodations made for the human body." More details here. more ›